Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 Episode 5 Review: Economics of Shame
As of lately, watching Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has become a tradition and a habit more than an enjoyable watch fans choose to make. It feels like the show presents cases with so much potential, and then it flatlines.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 Episode 5, “Economics of Shame,” is the perfect example of that. The storyline has great potential, and exploring the idea of sexual extortion is extremely relevant to the show’s topic and today’s reality. However, it dies there—in a great idea.
The show has delivered a few good episodes in the last few seasons that remind us why we stick around. But the sad reality is that most episodes are boring and feel like a task.
“Economics of Shame” brings awareness to the fact that sexual extortion can feel to the victims like an assault. Their autonomy, willpower, and consent get taken away from them like it does during an assault. However, victims are usually pushed to believe they are to blame.
During the episode, the women blame themselves for what happened. The reporter believes her judgment will be tested because she “let this happen to her.” If her video gets leaked, her career will be over, but the man will face no repercussions.
Why is it always the woman who gets blamed? How can someone be judged for a crime that was committed toward them?
Sadly, that is the reality when it comes to sex crimes, and what Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has been discussing for over two decades. When women are sexually assaulted, people turn around and blame them for “letting” something happen and often look away from truly blaming the perpetrator.
As part of the show’s goal, working with SVU should help them regain power and make their voices heard. Even though this doesn’t happen for every survivor, it happens on this episode.
The reporter can turn things around and use her experience to expose what is happening. As usual, Olivia Benson helps this woman see what she can do with her experience. Instead of allowing the men who extorted her to have power, she has it by sharing her story.
The truth is that Olivia Benson’s power (and her speeches) keep most viewers around. If Benson had left, the show would have ended, or many of us would have stopped watching several seasons ago.
When she is invested in a case, gives her all to the investigation, and we see her take the lead, we understand why we keep coming back to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit even after disappointing episodes (and seasons).
The show’s essence, just like “Economics of Shame” proves, is Benson. A good Benson speech, an interrogation scene with her, or watching her chase a perp can make even the worst episodes more enjoyable.
A show shouldn’t be carried entirely on the shoulders of one character, but Benson has been carrying this show for several seasons now. Most people won’t complain because it is hard to criticize something that we have loved for so long, but isn’t it time the show found a way to renew itself?
That doesn’t mean letting go of Olivia Benson because that would destroy what’s left of the show. But it means finding ways to truly honor what the show is about and making sure that fans who have been loyal for over two decades can find the passion that attracted them to the show in the first place.
If there is one thing we can highlight from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 26 Episode 5, “Economics of Shame,” is Velasco’s undercover work. Bruno says it perfectly; that is where Velasco started, and truthfully, that is where he does his best work.
Hopefully, the show will find a way to keep every piece of the puzzle where they do their best work. Yes, that means keeping Olivia Benson front and center, but it doesn’t mean forgetting about the other characters.
It is hard to keep a show alive after so many years, but we hope Law & Order: Special Victims Unit finds a way to do so.
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What did you think of this episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
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Lara Rosales
By day, Lara Rosales (she/her) is a solo mom by choice and a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature known as a Media Relations Expert. By night, she is a TV enjoyer who used to host a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things). You can find her work published on Eulalie Magazine, Geek Girl Authority, W Spotlight, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.